Yep we could have kept taxing the wealthy like we did pre Regan and things would have been good still but both parties became neoliberal shit

Jobs paid enough so one person could stay home is how it worked

That's a fantasy. In the 1800s and before there was so much at-home work to be done that it was a full time job for someone (virtually always the wife). She had to do the baking, cooking, mending clothes, cleaning, etc. all without any electrical appliances. That included no refrigerator or freezer, so shopping had to be done a lot more often. There were also no cars, so people either had to walk to do their shopping, or they used a horse. But, if they used a horse, then there was extra work related to keeping the horse alive and in good shape. Clothes were also a lot more expensive, so a lot more time was spent either making clothes at home and mending clothes that had holes, worn spots, etc. It wasn't "to do chores and whatnot", it was a full-time job involving more work than a typical a typical job from modern days.

Then there was WWI, then the "roaring 20s", which is when electrical appliances first started appearing, and then the stock market crashed and the great depression hit. During the great depression, if either the wife or the husband could find work, they were lucky, and probably had to support the whole family. During the great depression, a lot of worker protections were put in place through the New Deal. But, the jobs weren't there.

Then WWII hit, and for a while the US was manufacturing things for the rest of the world without being in the war itself. That helped the economy get going again. When the US joined the war, the economy was really going, but there was rationing in place so the workers who were earning money weren't able to spend it. When the war ended, the US was in an incredibly strong position. Workers had savings to spend once rationing was removed. Every other country had had its industrial base smashed by the war. As a result, the US manufacturing was in high demand all over the world. For contrast, even though the UK was also one of the "winners" of WWII, rationing was in place until 1954.

So, high demand for industrial workers, worker protections left over from the New Deal era, labour-saving electrical appliances being available for the first time, cars everywhere... it was a unique set of circumstances that meant for maybe the first time in history a man could work a blue collar job and have a wife who stayed at home and just did "chores and whatnot". That lasted a few decades. People blame Reagan for a lot of it, but really by the time he was elected that golden period for blue collar workers was already ending.

Also, keep in mind that strong protections for workers didn't just happen. The government didn't just decide that it would be nice to workers. Workers had to fight hard for those rights. The 8 hour day is the result of fights that were very violent. Bombs were thrown at cops. Supposed ringleaders were hanged by the government after show trials. FDR pushed for laws to protect workers because the alternative was rioting. If today's workers want to share in the wealth, they need to riot, they need to be prepared to die. Nothing's going to change if it's just complaining that "this isn't how it should be".

Eh, except that was only ever true above a certain income level. There has always been a portion of the working class excluded from those perks.

Jobs paid enough so one person could stay home is how it worked.

Sure, but you get send your stay-at-home spouse to the doctor or dentist on your behalf. They can manage tasks that are more household than personal though.

Scrolling down to this actually made me burst out with a laugh. Well done.

... generate value wealth for the filthy rich

FTFY

I come from a decade of high flexibility and autonomy. I now have a boss who basically breathes down my neck until the moment i need help, then is a ghost.

The "you have to be sitting at your desk the whole day, every day" thing is fucking insane. I can't believe how much I dislike this job because of it

Same, brother. After working at a job that really doesn't want you to randomly be absent by any reason to a job where you can come and leave any time as long as you got 40h a week - that is life changing.

Unfortunately, not all jobs can be like this. My previous job, just because of it's nature, would never allow this freedom.

Yes exactly. And all of those appointments are even considerd work time.

In our company we also get a splndid lunch for €5 every day. I honestly can't complain about my work life balance with this much planinf freedom.

Same here, middle of the road salary but as long as I can stand on business in meetings people generally dont care. The difference is I'll finish early to collect the kids and then do an hour or two when they are in bed.

Yeah, this. You schedule of days or you ask your boss if it's cool if you come in at 10 so you can get a new glasses prescription.

It depends a lot on the work culture where you are.

This is also a big reason people get married. It helps a lot if you have two people juggling this stuff.

This is exactly why I've stayed working for the same company for the last 6 years. I could definitely go elsewhere and get paid more (job hopping for higher salary is pretty common in my field), but I seriously doubt they'd be as cool with my senior dog's frequent vet appointments.

A tired worker is an obedient one

That's why we need strong communities, solidarity and mutual aid. Get the burden off of individual shoulders and make space to organize.
It's as easy as asking your neighbours if you wanna take turns cooking dinner for each other or something like that so you have an hour to spare.

Whenever I get a 3-day weekend, it feels like that's how a normal weekend should be.

When I get a 4-day weekend, it feels luxurious.

Those 4-day work weeks are nearly as productive as the 5-day work weeks. Those 3-day work weeks are tight. But I could make it work if I really had to! Lmao

I tried out a 4x10 work week for a while and it was alright, but not as great as I thought it would be. Mostly because I had effectively no time during the work week to get any household chores done, so we ended up just cramming everything into the weekend anyway, largely negating the purpose of having the extra day.

But yeah, if I could do a 32 hour work week that would be incredible.

Also depends on the country you're in. In my case "sick leave" doesn't have a limit. If you're sick or you need to take care of someone who is, you just don't work. There's no day limit.

Also, if you need to go to a bank appointment or something like that, most places will either not even ask you to "recover" those hours or (at worst) you'll just work an extra hour a few days.

That's a weird way to pronounce "we're an abusive workplace and I advise you to form a union."

Lol fuck that. It was either a really shit pahing job or a really high paying job. If it was inbetween tat company fuck can jump off a cliff.

If you have PTO. Contractors do not. Finding full time employment these days is hard. Finding full-time contracts is a lot easier.

Eat
Sleep

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Repeat

I did that for 10 years and it was great indeed, but it was a cushy job though. I reckon I couldn't do manual labour or serious thinking or concentrating for 12 hours a day. Just to say, it's probably not ideal for all professions.

You don't take vacation days to work without meetings?

You're doin' it right!

one hour is unpaid lunch, so technically it's an 8.5 hour workday. But yeah, no thank you.

Try doing 12 hours of physical labour which is what most warehouse/factory jobs in the UK are.

I tries to get hired at Wolt to make it 13 hours a day. If I can't think straight, can't socialize, can't spend off time decently, might as well just go full work.

I figured, I should just speedrun retirement/death.

I see you, stranger. I hope you can find some flavor in the shit that life has become.

Fucking this. I am lucky enough to have found a job that's Tuesday to Friday. An extra days worth of money dosnt make up for all the shit I can get done over a three day weekend.

Same here. Sometimes I need the Friday just to sleep, but it's nice.

only if you WFH

2x20 sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I know 3x12 / paid for 40 is pretty common in a lot of fields.

Same thing here in Europe. You can then get a special permit from the doctor to show your employer that you were actually at a medical appointment and not smoking weed

The concept of burning vacation / sick time for a doctor’s appointment is weird to me (canada). I just say “hey boss, doc appointment this day” and he says “okay”.

Look, I get that you live in a civilized country, but stop gloating.